Graffiti art and funky furniture form the ideal setting for displaying Consuela's bags, pillows and other creations.

Conni Reed, Consuela's founder and CEO, teamed up with a furniture designer and a graffiti artist to create her dream design studio, office space and small storefront in downtown Austin.

A stone wall provides a dramatic backdrop for the dining room upstairs at Consuela's new Austin headquarters.

It’s impossible to be in a bad mood when you walk into Consuela’s new downtown Austin space. At the lifestyle fashion brand’s renovated headquarters and storefront on Congress Avenue, brightly colored street art melds with traditional Mexican textiles to create the brand’s contagiously vibrant personality.

After nearly six years in nearby Dripping Springs, Consuela recently made the move to the heart of Austin and took about a year to renovate a historic building. The result is an inviting, cozy space that plays with “the art of the unmatched,” says Conni Reed, Consuela’s founder and creative director. Making a cohesive statement with contradictory elements like graffiti and plush pillows is Reed’s specialty.

Together with furniture designer and industrial artist Brian Chilton and renowned street artist Nate “Sloke” Nordstrom, Reed made her longtime design vision come true. As much as she loves Dripping Springs (she still lives there), Reed says that as a creative person, she needed to be saturated with different stimuli — something only the quirkiness of life in downtown Austin can provide.

Consuela’s small but colorful store, which had its grand opening celebration in late April, shows off a range of products including the brand’s bags and home decor with a Latin American flavor. Because Consuela runs mostly as a wholesale business distributing to more than 2,000 retail stores nationwide, Reed says, storefront space isn’t necessarily vital. But now customers can browse, shop and get a peek at the design that’s inspiring the folks behind the brand.

Tucked past the storefront is Consuela’s office headquarters. An exposed stone wall that runs throughout most of the space also unifies the design between areas and adds warmth to the two-story building. Reed’s own stenciled art decorates the painted concrete floors, but the showstopper is Chilton’s whimsical take on the office cubicle.

Chilton created colorful free-standing structures from acrylic, glass and sheet metal that do not attach to the historic building’s walls. Instead of the traditional cubed-shaped walls, Chilton gave the cubicle’s tall walls a wavy shape on top and incorporated bright reds, purples, yellows and greens. Throughout the upstairs and downstairs spaces, about 12 different paint colors are used on the walls.

For Chilton, the freedom of a collaborative design process was what made working on the Consuela space memorable. “We didn’t sit down with a concise master plan and execute that plan,” Chilton says. “We spent a lot of time in the space, brainstorming, bouncing ideas off of each other. Some of those ideas were fantastic; some were not. In the end, what we came up with reflects the carefree spirit of the Consuela brand, respects the beauty of the historical space and even allows me to showcase skills in architectural welding and furniture design from a new perspective.”

The blends of modern and rugged continue in the upstairs area, which is Reed’s design studio. It includes Nordstrom’s graffiti-style mural of the Consuela name, kitchen, bathroom with shower and living area.

“It’s turned into my sanctuary,” Reed says. She holds meetings upstairs, but it’s mostly a quiet space where she’s inspired to create. “It’s something that I always dreamed of doing.”

For Reed, the space is more than just a new flagship store and headquarters with cool interior design. About a decade ago, she took a big risk and left behind her corporate life to follow her passion. As the economy plummeted, her decision grew more nerve-racking, but her idea soon caught fire.

“I think we oftentimes are inundated with responsibilities, and it’s hard to break away and try to do what you dream about. I would recommend trying it to anyone.”

It’s a philosophy that she’s carried into her brand by incorporating the slogan “We dare you.”

Reed hasn’t stopped dreaming or daring herself. She’s working on making Consuela a national lifestyle brand.